


The Truth Is Crippled

by astorii



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: AU, Author!Shinichi, F/M, Fanboy!Kaito, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2019-08-17 15:36:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astorii/pseuds/astorii
Summary: A struggling author meets his biggest fan.Or:Shinichi really, really hates writing and Kaito is a really, really big fan of his.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not and never will own DCMK or anything you may recognize!
> 
> This AU is not the most original, but I assure you, any similarities my story may have to anyone else’s is pure coincidence.
> 
> Please enjoy!

_If life imitates art, he’d like to ask who the artist behind this masterpiece is._

_With the moon glowing as it is, appearing softly behind him with a transcendent glow as it continues its slow ascent, the image must look almost unreal. His shadow is splattered across the ground, stretching in a darkened black-blue mass against the grey of the rooftop—like a signature of sorts, he supposes. The man before him is a ghost—a phantom, perhaps? The stark white of his garb only heightens that effect, making him somewhere between godly and unearthly with such radiance._

_He must have jumped down from the heavens, landing with a feather-light fall on the raised edge of the rooftop. Without so much as a sound, the man descends, landing on the same level as the other occupant on this lonely rooftop._

_The man’s fabric wings gather around him whilst not scraping the ground. Even as a small, cool breeze passes by, that cape is at an eerie standstill. And covered by the shadow casted by the brim of his hat is his face, which is hidden from the moonbeams peeking out from behind him. Despite that, his eyes burn bright in the dark contours and the curve of his lips is unmistakeable._

_“My, my,” says he with a lilt in his voice. “It seems you’ve won our game of cat and mouse, little detective.”_

_“Hardly,” scoffs the other. “I thought you were better than this, Thief-san, as not all things are as they seem.”_

_“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds as though you’d prefer to lose.”_

_Moonshine bounces off of the little detective’s glasses. Behind them, blue eyes shine furiously, vibrant with adrenaline and ferocity unbefitting of a child such as he. With a sharp click of the tongue, he drops to one knee and presses two fingers against the side of the red trainer on his right foot._

_As he rises, electricity crackles from his shoe, lighting up the night. There’s a predatory grin on his face as his left hand moves to the odd buckle of his belt, twisting a little knob and pressing down. From it, a soccer ball inflates, disconnecting as soon as it’s full of air. The boy bounces it from his left foot and bounces it back and forth between his left knee and the top of his head._

_“Not necessarily,” he declares. “I just prefer to tell the story as is.” Without further warning, he launches the ball into the air with his head and as it falls, it connects with his right foot, sending it on a trajectory path towards the man. “And this one isn’t over just yet.”_

_Why, it’s barely even started._

_The man dodges the projectile with startling grace and has the gall to flash his pearly whites as he grasps the brim of his hat with gloved fingers. The child scowls in response, positioning himself and deftly flipping open the lid of his watch._

_“I’ve got you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some may recognize this idea from my [story dump](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15388833/chapters/35713890). :)
> 
> Originally, this was to be a long one shot, but I’ve literally been working on this idea for over a year and I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story. :p
> 
> Anyway, chapters written in italics are from Shinichi’s own story that he’s writing, such as this chapter right here!


	2. Chapter 2

Between both sets of teeth, he holds a pen in his mouth.

Shinichi glares at the sunlight, which is filtering in through the open window. Yet another day, locked away and left to stare at the screen of his laptop or the blank pages of his notepad. He drops his gaze, staring at the rough edges where telltale signs of multiple sheets of paper being ripped out are evident. The teen sighs, and the pen between his teeth falls to the surface of his desk and rolls on its side before its clip stops it from going any further.

His jaw tightens and he leans back, draping his arm over his face as he ponders the question of why he can’t seem to do anything right. For days, he’s been stuck, looking at the same words he had written three weeks ago glaring at him from the latest document he’s opened up on his laptop. For days, he’s been stuck, unable to come up with anything satisfactory.

He wonders how his father does it.

Shinichi heaves a great sigh and sits up, removing his arm so that he can glimpse the words he has more or less committed to memory at this point. As he reads each character, a flash of hot anger overtakes him, prompting him to pick up an object to his right and hurl it with all his might.

He only realizes what he had done when the thud of something hitting the wall breaks the near silence of the room. Shinichi blinks, suddenly feeling calm and wondering why he had done such a thing. Coming to his senses, he realizes that he had thrown his pencil holder.

And when he strains his neck and leans forward, he sees that his collection of pens and pencils have spilled out. Squinting his eyes for a closer look, he notices a lone paperclip peeking out from inside. He clicks his tongue, letting himself lean back once more as he takes a moment to direct a glare at his laptop as though it was the cause of his anger.

Not even moments later, his phone buzzes, vibrating against the wood surface of his desk. Shinichi picks it up and presses the answer button in one fluid motion, not even bothering to check the caller I.D.

Disregarding any preamble, his mother’s frantic voice is on the other line. She’s asking him if he’s okay and asking what that noise had been. Withholding a sigh, he pinches the bridge of his nose and explains to her that he’s fine. To quell her worry, he explains to her that he had simply thrown his pencil holder, which means she doesn’t need to come rushing up here in a frenzy.

She falls silent, ceasing in her ramblings, which appeases the growing migraine in his head. Then, she advises that he should speak with his father if he’s having so much trouble on his novel. As opposed to thanking her for the suggestion or anything else, Shinichi hangs up, dropping his phone in his lap without a care.

Instead of following through with the advice, he picks up his pen and brings its tip to the pad of paper. Then, he begins to form a few characters, coming up with little notes and ideas. At some point in the middle of his writing, a handful of minutes after just starting, he stops and ink begins to bleed onto the pages as his arm shakes—why is his arm shaking? Shinichi bites his lip and drops the pen before slamming his fisted left hand down. Without wasting a second, he pushes away from the desk, letting tension ease off.

He just needs some coffee. And maybe a reading break. Either way, he’s making his way towards the door because he can’t handle being at his desk for another second—not right now.

Shinichi makes it downstairs and arrives in the kitchen where he finds a cup of coffee already waiting for him. He half-smiles as he picks it up, knowing that his mother had left it out for him. Holding it with one hand, he looks for the woman and finds her draped across of one of the couches in their living room, looking like some sort of model with the way she has artistically positioned herself.

She looks up from the glossy-paged catalogue in her hands and he gives her a quiet thanks before heading towards the library. Yukiko calls out after him, reminding him not to spend too much time cooped up with his books. Even though she probably can’t hear him, he snorts in reply.

( ~~Deep down, he can’t help but wonder if she’s trying to take away the one thing he cares about anymore.~~ )

Shinichi hums in broken notes as he escapes to the library. He finds the doors open; it must have been his father, he thinks. Perhaps Yūsaku forgot to close the doors on his way out. Or something like that. The teen browses the vast selection of books on the first level of the haven before choosing one book from a series that has long since been discontinued. Then, he settles himself at his father’s desk.

He doesn’t even realize how much time passes until he hears his father’s voice raining down from above. Shinichi glances up to see Yūsaku standing on the other side of the desk with a somewhat amused smirk. Apparently it’s time for dinner.

And although Shinichi can make it to the dining room himself, Yūsaku chooses to wait for him.

At the table, the Kudō family gives their thanks for the food, before delving into their meal. In the middle of it all, Yūsaku tells his son a bit of interesting news that has Yukiko squealing. With an apology on his tongue, Shinichi declines the offer.

Yūsaku asks that he at least think about it. Upon seeing the expression on his mother’s face, the young author relents.

He’ll simply tell them no tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I procrastinated on my AP hw and it’s due tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. and I still have 30 questions to finish. Whoops.
> 
> Anyway... this isn’t _just_ an Author!Shinichi AU. There’s another plot going on, and I’ve been hinting towards it. I’ll only continue to do so, and people may be able to figure it out. If you can figure it out now, I’ll be impressed. ;)
> 
> But yeah. I think I can get out a decent amount of updates since this was originally a long one shot, I have the 9k words I’ve written thus far, so I just gotta break each section into 500 or 1k word chapters. :p


	3. Chapter 3

Three days later finds Shinichi holed up in his father’s library with his nose buried in a book.

He quite likes the smell of books—both old and new, thank you very much. No matter how much Ran or his mother try to convince him to at least take his reading outside, there is nothing better than the solace that this room has to offer. Shinichi can’t stand being outside anymore. For him, it’s best to just watch the outside from his bedroom window.

And although he appears to be reading, his eyes flicker over each word, his brain reading only broken sentences.

Earlier today, he had made a rather sound decision to distract himself from certain frustrations by immersing himself in his one and only comfort: books.

Shinichi’s career as a bookworm began before he entered preschool. He remembers that first day when he hid under his father’s desk, small hands gripping the cover of _The Adventure of the Dancing Men_ and reading that one line which had inspired him to impress a certain girl whose smile made him fall head over heels. Such fond memories are chased away when he remembers his mother chastising him on reading in the dark, warning him that glasses are in his future if he continues such habits.

He scoffs, bringing the book even closer to his face. If he dares to close the distance between himself and the publication in his hands, he’d go cross-eyed. Shinichi clicks his tongue, trying his best to focus on the words instead of skipping over them.

It takes him longer than he’d like to get past a full page without his attention falling to the unfinished chapter he had been trying to write for the past week. Shinichi turns to the next page and repeats the process. The grueling cycle of starting and restarting each sentence takes up far too much of his time, but it’s well worth it when he’s lost to the pages of his book, entranced by another universe and the people within it.

Somewhere between page 3 and page 129, Shinichi loses an hour of time in the real world. It’s only when a slender finger pushes his book down and flicks his forehead that he blinks himself back to reality.

Standing before him like some sort of angel is Ran. Her face is almost glowing as she beams down at him and he makes a mental note of the way she looks because he thinks it would make for a rather lovely paragraph in a future story. Shinichi dismisses the thought when he notices the mischievous gleam in her eyes.

After giving him a brief scolding on how he should at least fix his posture if he’s going to stay inside reading all day for who knows how long, she pulls the book from his hands and tosses it aside, ignoring his indignant squawk and the demands for her to pick it up right away should she have (— _gasp_ —) creased a page.

She moves behind him, pushing him towards the door and telling him that she had picked up a bunch of free samples from a new cake and pie shop that had opened in downtown Beika. Before he can protest, she tells him that their lemon pie looked exquisite. The thought of the tart yet sweet dessert is incentive enough to swallow any objections.

He lets her talk his ear off about how there had been this coffee tiramisu that he may also like and about this rather tantalizing piece of shortcake that she had picked up. Shinichi wonders to himself if it’s a good idea to expose her to sugar when she already seems so hyper.

The journey to the kitchen is short. On the table is an assortment of colorful pastries and other baked goods. Shinichi refrains from telling her that there is no way the two of them will be able to finish all of that. Instead, he reaches for the lemon pie, gives thanks for the food, and digs in. Thankfully, Ran had already set out a pitcher of water and two empty glasses.

With his fork, he slices through the pie. Already, he can tell that the texture is almost perfect; it felt a bit too thick for his liking, but he can manage. Shinichi examines it. The color is beautiful and the crust isn’t too crumbly.

As soon as the piece lands on his tongue, he can taste how tart it is, leaving behind a sugary aftertaste.

Perfect.

He doesn’t need to ask her to know that Ran is in love with the shortcake she had all but staked a claim on. While she’s busy admiring a syrup-glazed strawberry, Shinichi watches her smile. He wonders how he got so lucky in the childhood friend department.

Shinichi chews on another piece of his pie, filing away a fleeting thought of _sour-sweet lemon yellow_ to describe the exact shade of yellow that he had envisioned for the hat worn by the protagonist in his story.

While he’s busy slicing through the pie with the side of his fork, Ran asks him how his writing is going. Halfway through, he pauses, blinking down at his plate. For some reason, he can’t bring himself to tell her that he hasn’t written anything worthwhile in a few days. He purses his lips before lying through his teeth, telling her that he had finished a new chapter.

Ran hums. Somehow, he has trouble discerning if she actually believes him because her expression seems to be hiding any doubt. Instead, she tells him that she had seen his last book at every bookstore she’s passed by. Apparently, his books have their own displays.

And as great as that is, he finds that it isn’t very life-changing news. There’s no pride welling up within him or any red-hot embarrassment on his cheeks. He asks if they can change the topic. Although somewhat confused, she relents.

They talk about her up-coming karate tournament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow it’s taken me this long to update even though I have a draft that I can reference.
> 
> So, I committed a sin by using the Comic Sans font because I heard it helps with writer’s block. It kind of worked. Weird.
> 
> Anywho... so, poor Shinichi. I think next chapter will be another peek at his story. I wonder how bad his writer’s block is. :(


	4. Chapter 4

A typical dinner in the Kudō residence looks like this:  
  
Yukiko prepares dinner while singing along to American pop songs. During this time, Yūsaku sets the table before seeking out his son, who is usually found either in his bedroom or in the library. Afterwards, the three settle down and give their thanks for the food before tucking in. At some point during the meal, Yukiko begins a spiel about how Okino Yōko is in a secret relationship with a fellow pop idol from some obscure J-Pop group or something along those lines—according to the numerous tabloids and gossip magazines that she follows, that is.  
  
Eventually, all this talk dwindles down as she focuses more on her food, but it isn’t long before she starts lamenting about how she’d like to visit New York to meet with old acquaintances from the acting world or to Hawaii or even to Paris to catch up with an old friend.  
  
At that point, Shinichi finishes his meal and disappears.  
  
Tonight, he’s unsure of whether he’s pleased that Yukiko has been too occupied with her meal to start gossiping or unnerved by the uncharacteristic silence. Shinichi looks to his father for answers to find the man leading through a yellow-paged manuscript, mumbling inaudible comments and massaging the inner-corners of his eyes every few seconds. Bitterly, Shinichi thinks about how lucky Yūsaku is to even _have_ a manuscript ready while he can’t even get past the first chapter!  
  
With a sigh, he continues to pick at the food on his plate, pushing most of it around after having taken a few uninterested bites. Now, don’t get him wrong! He does appreciate a nice helping of pickled vegetables with salmon and rice, but he’s just not in the mood. For any of it. Or food in general. Hunger seems to elude him at the moment. Yūsaku must notice as the man pipes up to suggest that Yukiko should cook curry tomorrow night.  
  
After that, it’s back to the peaceful if awkward silence until Yūsaku clears his throat and says, “So, Shinichi, have you given any thought to—”  
  
“No.” Shinichi sets his fork down with more force than necessary; it’s mostly unintentional. His nose twitches as he meets his father’s gaze. “I already told you. You’re wasting your breath if you ask me to reconsider.”  
  
“But, Shin-chan,” Yukiko whines, pulling her lips down into a pout. She doesn’t drop the expression even as he attempts to level her with a flat stare. He inhales, wondering if she’d drop the act. “Your fans are dying to meet the boy behind _Chase_!”  
  
Oh, he _knows_. Shinichi’s seen more than enough articles when perusing the online world and Ran brings it up once in a blue moon by mentioning how many of her classmates have raved about the series. Sometimes he wonders if it’s selfish of him to want to keep the thin veil of anonymity—if you can even call it that. He’s seen what his father goes through. Shinichi doesn’t want to deal with it himself.  
  
“You know how I feel about going outside,” he whispers.  
  
Perhaps that’s a low blow. Admittedly, Shinichi can’t find it within himself to care.  
  
(Deep breaths.)  
  
Shinichi wonders if the guilt she wears is a mere mask. Sometimes he feels like he can’t trust his mother, not when she constantly pretends to be perfectly happy with still being here in Japan. In a small voice, she says, “Yū-chan always says that meeting with his fans helps him. I thought that maybe…”  
  
He quirks a brow. The way she trails off doesn’t sit right with him. And neither does the way she pokes her two pointer fingers in front of her face as though she’s done something _very_ wrong. When his father releases a long-suffering sigh and pushes his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose, Shinichi feels his stomach drop. When he opens his mouth, Yūsaku only sighs once more with the tiniest of nods.  
  
“Kāsan, tell me you didn’t—”  
  
“If I’d known she was going to do this, I’d have stopped her,” Yūsaku says as Yukiko dissolves into a fit of nervous giggles.  
  
If Shinichi didn’t know any better, he’d believe the man. Unfortunately, he does know better. Yūsaku is _never_ out of the loop. Few things escape his notice and he’s quick to piece together the big picture from a few odds and ends. The day Yūsaku makes a wrong deduction is the day that Shinichi finally leaves the house again.  
  
Besides, his mother is _terrible_ at keeping secrets. If she didn’t let it slip, whether on purpose or by accident, then Shinichi will color himself surprised. It’s more likely that she spilled the beans to her husband out of excitement. Or perhaps she revealed it without meaning to. Maybe Yūsaku figured it out all on his own.  
  
“Tell then to cancel,” he replies, running a hand through his hair. He leans back, closing his eyes. “I’m not going. I won’t do it.”  
  
“A little late for that, sweetie,” Yukiko says, both looking and sounding remorseful. Shinichi knows better than to believe her. She _is_ a world-renowned (former) actress for a reason. This fact doesn’t distract him as she continues with, “Everyone’s expecting to see Kudō Shinichi at Beika Town Center on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4. Didn’t Ran-chan tell you? I could’ve sworn that I told her…”  
  
Shinichi doesn’t fall for the batting lashes or the small pout. And she doesn’t need to say it out loud for him to know that she and Ran have plotted this together. It’s a miracle that they hadn’t tried this sooner!  
  
“I don’t care. I’m not going,” he insists, pushing away from the table. He’s not doing this. Shinichi doesn’t know what he’s going to do now. His shoulders are tense and he can feel his arms shaking. Writing doesn’t sound like a good idea. Or reading. That’s out of the question too. “I’m going to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think next chapter will be another look at Shinichi’s book.
> 
> But oh! It’s been a minute since I’ve updated this. ^ ^ I keep thinking that I have school soon, but I have 2-3 months left? I’m not quite sure when we go back. Lol. It’s messing with my head though. Sksksks.
> 
> Anywho, I’m trying to update the stories/series that aren’t my main focus. Namely this, Magic Conan, and my NightBaron!Conan series. ^ ^ It may take a bit, but I really want to get a few chapters out!
> 
> But back to this...
> 
> Finally some dialogue with Shinichi! I was saving it for Kaito’s appearance, but decided against that. So... we’re gonna see Kaito soon. Hehe. And we’ll learn more about Shinichi too.
> 
> What do you think? I’m sure most of you have figured out one of the important details surrounding Shinichi in this AU.


	5. Chapter 5

_ Seven jewels were stolen—each affectionately named after its color in the French language and displayed in rainbow order. Priced at 250 million Yen, the Crown Jewels of the exhibit were not immune to the slippery fingers of a certain thief… _  
  
_ “Good little boys should be in bed,” says the thief, juggling the stolen gems in his hands. Catching the moon’s beams, the gems glow, casting colored light onto the floor in a mesmerizing dance. _  
  
_ The detective rolls his eyes. One hand moves to his belt, preparing to set the timer and release the ball. “It’s only just past eight,” he replies. He notices the thief shifting his stance just the tiniest bit and he hides a grin at the telling sign—if he aims it to the left, he’ll at least knock the thief back. Cheekily, he adds, “And bad thieves should be in jail.” _  
  
_ “Brat.” _  
  
_ He grins and hits release, inflating a ball. Quickly, he kicks it up and lifts his right foot behind him to activate its power-enhancer. Just as his foot connect with the ball, his leg jerks, throwing it off its course. The ball embeds itself into a concrete wall just as his other leg gives out, taking him to the ground. Slowly, it deflates, peeling away from the surface to reveal a sizable dent from which pebbled bits fall to the ground. _  
  
_ “You all right, little detective?” asks the criminal, catching the stolen stones between his fingers. His gaze is heavy with concern. The boy never misses his mark unless his target—target being the thief himself—dodges with the usual, unearthly grace. _  
  
_ The child blinks down at his shoes. Their rooftop battlefield falls silent with only the quiet murmurings of the crowd on the ground. His droopy-eyed daze is broken when the thief calls his name. _  
  
_ They don’t use names when it’s just the two of them. _  
  
_ “Just peachy,” he mutters, rubbing his leg; it doesn’t hurt, so why…? He pushes himself up and takes a second to test his balance. Widening his stance, he raises his arm and flips open the lid of his watch. “I’ll get you this time.” _  
  
_ His only answer is a gleeful cackle. And with that, the thief disappears with a loud pop and a plume of smoke, leaving behind a lonely boy on an even lonelier rooftop. With a sigh, he drops his arms, closing the watch face cover, and stares at the cityscape. He spots the white hang glider weaving around a tall skyscraper. _  
  
_ “Next time,” he tells himself as he ignores the ringing in his ears—that pop was rather loud... _  
  
_ He turns on his heel, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he walks over to the door. If he hurries, he might make it home before his parents do. He casts one more look over his shoulder, eyeing the moon with an appreciative gaze. Then, he slips inside and the door clicks shut behind him. _  
  
_ Until next time, he thinks. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The awkward thing about being a writer—or at least being me—is that I’m willing to do more research for my stories than I’m willing to do for my schoolwork. >-<
> 
> But I really did spend quite a while researching certain things for this story and I finally found something that would help. ^ ^
> 
> Okay, some of you might know what’s about to go down in Shinichi’s story based on this chapter. It has nothing to do with Shinichi’s deal tho. Just a btw.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you ever so much for taking time out of your day to read this! :) Please remember to take care of yourself today!!
> 
> Please consider leaving a comment or a kudos at the very least. They are very much appreciated!


End file.
